


Another Year Older

by Starlithorizon



Series: Alchemy and Guitar Ties [27]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Birthday, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Seriously Fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-19
Updated: 2013-05-19
Packaged: 2017-12-12 07:27:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/808899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlithorizon/pseuds/Starlithorizon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Martin celebrate a milestone birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Year Older

**Author's Note:**

> Mattsloved1 was really, really supremely lovely and sent me a whole bunch of prompts. This is the first of the bunch: "Martin gives Arthur a perfect birthday. Could be just the two of them or a large themed party."  
> I always do things with just the two of them, so I think I might do a big ol' themed party one of these days. Look forward to that.

He awoke that morning feeling the way he usually did. He didn't feel any older, and he didn't feel like he should mourn his youth. In fact, all he really felt was the insistent heat of his husband's body curled against his.

Today was Arthur's fortieth birthday.

His thirtieth had been quite nice, celebrating with the crew in Madrid. His thirty-fifth had been lovely, with a surprise party thrown by Martin. The couple was good at birthdays by now, alternating between quiet celebrations with film marathons and big parties. This was to be a quiet year, as they'd just gotten home from a long series of international hops and wanted to relax a bit.

As he did every morning, he kissed his Skipper's temple and climbed out of bed. He wrapped his favourite dressing gown around himself, relishing the fleecy feel of it and grinning at the penguins on the material; it had been an early birthday present from his mum, complete with a matching pair of slippers.

He shuffled into the study to do some painting, as he did most mornings. The light was always so soft and golden in there on mornings like this, and it was the best. He loved the simple beauty of the light glinting off the globs of paint on his palette, and the way the dust of his pastels hung in the sun in little clouds of colour.

Within half an hour, he'd heard the gentle rustling sounds of Martin getting out of bed, and soon the smells of breakfast were fluttering through the house. With a smile, Arthur added the last little detail to his painting.

"Happy birthday," Skip said, grinning up at Arthur as he put a few slices of toast on a plate. The table was laid out with some of Arthur's favourite breakfast foods, including Toblerone pancakes.

"Good morning." Arthur kissed Martin lightly and sat down.

They ate peacefully, chattering about those easy things people discuss during breakfast. The food was hearty and sweet, the company couldn't possibly have been better, and his fuzzy dressing gown had penguins on it. Already the day was looking to be absolutely perfect.

They washed up, putting away the dishes together before retiring to the sitting room to watch _Quest for Camelot_. They slouched against each other, fingers and hands brushing delicately, Arthur grinning like a loon at the film.

After watching _The Good, the Bad_ , and the Ugly, they dressed and headed out into the back garden for a picnic. Again, the food was hearty and a bit sweet, complete with Toblerone biscuits. They lazed on the quilt, a fine breeze ruffling their hair and eyelashes, sunlight soaking through the greenery above them. They kissed lazily, fingers and legs tangling together till it became perhaps a bit more energetic.

They drifted into the bedroom, where skin was gilded and bleached with the bold squares of sun that had fallen upon the bed. Sweat shone and glistened like gems, like hills of paint in the morning, like sprinklers in summer. Mouths gasped out, biting names and words of love off at the ends. Eyes and fingers both fluttered and heat pulsated between exquisitely illuminated bodies.

Though there had been plans to watch more films through the afternoon, they just lay in bed, sated and sleepy and smiling at the soft little haze at the edges of everything. That was more of do with the quiet, languid heat inspiring a desire to nap than anything.

The sun was still up, and Arthur was already inclined to call this birthday absolutely perfect. He'd never expected to find such flawlessness, never quite thought that he'd be able to reach out and call it his own. He had never once thought that he would be able to marry perfection and tangle his limbs with its personification in bed.

Though, to be completely honest, he knew Martin wasn't perfect. No one was. Nothing was. But _perfection_ , something that consisted of bliss and brilliance and sun warm on his skin: that was given face and flesh in the form of Martin Crieff-Shappey.

They ate dinner together on the sofa, and when they were finished with their meal, Skip reached back to pull a gift from behind the sofa. It was a fairly heavy box, rattling with several different things and wrapped in sky blue paper.

"It's not the most expensive or glamorous of presents," Martin muttered, already doubting. "I mean, it's a bit hard to shop for a millionaire, even if _you're_ the millionaire. Or, well, especially _because_ you're the millionaire. I can't really go and buy you a _boat_ or something, and you already have a car, and—”

Arthur silenced the nervous rush with a kiss and a smile.

"Whatever it is, it'll be brilliant. Remember that stocking you gave me for Christmas that year? With the orange TicTac and the coin covered in chocolate?"

Martin flushed and nodded, slightly encouraged by Arthur's joy.

"Well. that was one of the best presents I've ever gotten. The hat you gave me was brilliant too, and my favourite colour before you even knew, but you'd put so much thought into that stocking. It was perfect. So, whatever you got me, it'll be brilliant because you got it for me."

With that, he tore into the paper and pulled the lid off the box. Inside was a little collection of things perfectly chosen for the sole purpose of making Arthur smile. The five new cravats, to make up for the one they'd ruined. The navy socks with the four gold bands. The pile of Toblerones (which Martin had been collecting for a while, as not all of them were available in England) and packets of cocoa. Finally, there was a new sketchbook, which was quite handy as there were only a couple of pages left in Arthur's other one.

"Thanks, Skip!" Arthur cried, unsure of which item pleased him the most. He tilted his face down and kissed his Skipper soundly. Martin blushed softly and wrapped an arm around Arthur's waist, pulling him close. He dipped his head slightly, nuzzling into the rounded crook between Arthur's neck and shoulder.

"Has this been a good year?" he asked into Arthur's skin, causing the taller man to shiver. "

Oh, the best so far."


End file.
